noellesmagicallibrary's reviews
381 reviews

I enjoyed the aspect of Mud’s self-journey and learning about the Kiowa people more than solving the actual mystery. All the details between the fracking and the museum were getting a bit muddied (pun intended). 

I had a hard time focusing on Mud and Denny’s suspicions, remembering who was where at what time and what everyone’s motive would be. I couldn’t get into it or try to solve the murder mystery along with them. 

I actually had no idea this was a series until I got to the acknowledgments. Since I like Mud as a character I’m interested in reading more books in the series. 

📖 physical: advanced reader copy
⭐ 4.0


The Devourer is a high seas adventure built upon female rage. Seventeen year old captain, Adra, has taken over her father's ship hellbent on finding, and killing, her half-brother Cameron.
Hot on his trail, they find a fleet of ships that were recently attacked, leaving only one person alive. The circumstances of these deaths are strange -- it seems they all drowned while on their ships. The sole survivor tells Adra and her crew about the gigantic fist of water that came out of the sea to swallow the ship whole.

In order to appease the malevolent force in the sea, the crew of the Worldeater must find the grave of the pirate king and steal back his treasure.  That's when the adventure truly starts: pirate hideouts, fighting skeletons, carnivorous plants, and a hidden island that's slowly turning to stone.


I had so much fun reading The Devourer. It blends adventure, romance, fantasy and horror; I love the world that the author created and can't wait to come back to it (which I hope happens because this story ends on what could be considered a cliffhanger).


Here's my one bit of negative criticism that I'm chalking up to having read an ARC:
-There was at least one instance where I'm fairly certain a character was speaking who wasn't initially in the scene.
-I found some paragraphs difficult to read. I needed to slow down my reading pace and really focus on the words in order to visualize the action in my head.


I was given an advanced copy for review, all thoughts are entirely my own. Thank you Page Street YA and TBR and Beyond Tours for the opportunity 

Zan is a teenager fulfilling a debt to the Ferryman. For the past 499 years he has been helping souls cross the River Styx. In all that time he's only failed to cross one soul. 

A year earlier, Bastian, his brother Dorian and their mom were in a major car accident, leaving one of them dead, and another one convinced that they should be. 

Unable to tell if it's real or just a crazy dream, Bastian visits Zan at the entry to the River Styx. They develop a relationship, traveling between memories of the previous lost souls -- this is the only way Zan has been able to experience life. 
The Ferryman wants what is owed to him and both boys needs to make a decision.


Cool idea, and Zan and Bash were fine, but I wasn't completely sold on the love story. 
I did enjoy Riley's character, and of course, Cat. But for the majority of the book I just didn't feel invested in the story. 
I'd say give it a try for yourself if you're interested in Greek mythology, YA romance, queer relationships, grief/death/drugs, and magical realism. 


 

 

I love it. 
I love it. 
I love it. 

The artwork is incredible. The color palette is perfect. 
This graphic is educational and inspiring and I want to own my copy immediately. 

I’d recommend this to anyone with even a slight interest in the history of witchcraft and modern magic. 

*I read an eARC. The writing was clear but the images were not. It was difficult for me to make out details in many of the panels so I struggled to follow along. 
The artwork that I can see well is lovely. I very much like this style. 

I can’t say too much about the story itself though. There is a kid who meets a forest fairy and together they find a magical item that allows the kid to create a special book. All the while, Vikings have been terrorizing the towns and his home is under attack. 

OK, I've been struggling to rate/review this book. I'm still not confident on my 4.0 star rating but that's where I'm at right now.

So on the one hand, The Ring (the American movie) is one of my favorite horror films. Although the source material is quite different, that's factoring in to my enjoyment of the book a bit. 

This book was written in 1991. I need to remember that when thinking about some of the more uncomfortable aspects. For those who haven't read the book this will be a bit of a spoiler --

Sadako is an intersex individual who associates with a female identity. My initial thought was "this is totally unnecessary and it feels gross making the "bad guy" intersex. But then the more I thought about, I accepted that choice. Tis aspect of Sadako was another way in which she felt different from society and her biologic identity was never used as the reason why she created the curse. Finally, Asakawa and Ryuji continue to use she/her pronouns when discussing Sadako. I'm a cis-het female, so what I say here doesn't hold much weight, but in the end I didn't find this book to be transphobic. 

 

I really hated Ryuji's character. He's a major player in this story so I can't imagine it was the author's intention to make him so unlikeable.

Ryuji is a self-proclaimed rapist. He bragged about this to Asakawa. And then knowing this, Asakawa continued to be his close friend. Both of these men suck. The doctor who pushed Sadako into the well sucks too. I don't care if he was fever-crazy with smallpox. He still raped Sadako and then pushed her into the well when he discovered her secret.

So yeah, I have some negative critics about this book but I still liked the story as a whole and I will probably continue to the read the series. 

The ending is what really sold it for me. I read the last few pages and was low-key amazed at the complexity of the different meanings "the ring" holds. 

I listened to this entire audio while wrapping Christmas presents. It made the chore much more bearable. 
This is my second Meg Shaffer book  — I will read anything she ever writes. I love these characters and I love the world they live in. I laugh, I cry, and I don’t want her books to end. 


Imagine your favorite childhood series actually existed and you had a chance to go there as an adult. Not only that, you’re there to compete for a prize.  

Four very lucky people are invited to Clock Island to win a coveted prize— the long awaited next book in the Clock Island series. The author is a Willy-Wonka-esque man who loves riddles and puzzles. There’s only one copy in existence and everyone wants it. 

As a Jersey girl, this felt like required reading. 

Learning about the history of Abury Park and The Stone Pony was interesting — it’s a place I always heard about growing up and had the chance to visit once. 

I liked that the book is written in an oral history format with the story being told through interviews. Even though it says it right there in the title, I didn’t expect the book to be one very long interview. 

It’s also pretty awesome that the author was able to talk to so many people who were pivotal in The Pony’s history. 

On the flip side, I think the book was too long to hold my interest. I zoned out a few times and I don’t think I retained much information. 

But for people who love history, and especially those who like Bruce Springsteen, the Jersey shore, and bar bands, this one is for you.